Why On That Night Did We Eat Coq au Vin?

Whenever I have people over, I like to serve simple. A roast, stew, lamb shepherd's pie, along with a salad, one of those will make for a nice meal that won't demand too much attention. When it became clear that I'd be making our own little seder this year, I decided my one pot meal would be Coq au Vin. To be precise, it'd be this Mark Bitman Coq au Vin recipe that calls for prunes and bacon (without the bacon, it being Passover and all). My friend Natalie makes this dish quite a lot and she told me she now halves the prunes and adds mushrooms. When I told my friend Melissa what I was planning to make, she suggested adding something for salt -- olives maybe? So I did. Both. I cut down the prunes by not much, added mushrooms and a hand full of olives, and it made for a perfect one pot dinner party dish, served over mashed potatoes (since egg noodles were out). Luckily, it was a cold, wet night. Had it been a more Spring-like day, I would've felt badly about serving the big winter chicken pot. As it was, it was just right.